Alabama Basketball Slowly Finding a Way Through Shock, Pain: All Things CW
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The look on his face.
The anguish that was apparent.
Even his strained voice was telling, still heavy with emotion and grief.
Basketball coach Nate Oats has been through an emotional wringer since Sunday, probably more than we'll ever know. Not only was one of his now-former players in jail facing murder charges, but a young woman's death has shaken Tuscaloosa to its core.
Even through Jamea Jonae Harris was from Birmingham, and the person who allegedly pulled the trigger hailed from Washington D.C., students have been nothing short of stunned, and the community left reeling.
"It's shocking, to be honest with you," Oats said during his postgame interview on the SEC Network about how it hit him personally. "I'm a believer, so a lot of prayer, a lot of scripture reading.
He added, slowly: "The basketball side of it became really unimportant for a while there. But the basketball side of it gives us some way for the team to pull together, you know, gives us something else to think about because the severity of the situation is big."
Tuesday night, less than three days after junior forward Darius Miles and Michael Lynn Davis were arrested, the Alabama Crimson Tide visited Vanderbilt in hopes of improving to 16-2 overall, 6-0 in Southeastern Conference play.
For a lot of people back home, the game wasn't easy to watch, and it had nothing to do with the style of play or the Memorial Gymnasium venue in Nashville that aways seems to give Alabama problems.
How could anyone think about basketball at a time like this?
"I can't believe it. I can't fathom that they even played this game," Vanderbilt coach and former NBA player Jerry Stackhouse said during his postgame press conference while praising Alabama's ability to even compete. “This game means nothing.”
Somehow the Crimson Tide got through it. Emotions were all over the place, and Oats said that there were tears in the locker room. Maybe it was a first step to help everyone in the recovery process, but it's going to take time, especially since the shooting wasn't just a tragic, horrific event. So far it appears to have been completely senseless as well.
Harris' mother, DeCarla Cotton, told CNN, that she and her boyfriend were in Tuscaloosa to visit her cousin, who is a student at the university. After getting something to eat on The Strip following a night out, a man approached and started flirting with her.
"He was advancing on her and she declined his attention. He refused to go away," Cotton told CNN. "While they were attempting to leave, one gentleman walked up to the car and started shooting."
A bullet struck and killed the 23-year-old woman on the passenger's side.
“I’ve got three daughters," Oats said on Monday. "It went through my mind how easily it could have been one of mine."
The team didn't practice on Sunday, but gathered to be together that evening, and then got back to work on Monday. In the meantime, Oats called anyone he could think of for advice.
What do I tell these guys? How can I help them?
The coach said the list included Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis, who was arrested for a double-murder in 2000, and spent time in jail before the trial despite not having killed anyone. He eventually plead down to obstruction of justice, a misdemeanor and was released.
“He just kind of told me to share the word with them and pray with them," Oats said. "That’s what they need right now.
"His daughter went to school here a year and a half ago, so she was pretty shook up by the whole situation, too.”
See SI Vault: The Gospel according to Ray
As Oats noted about the players not everyone grieves the same way or in the same amount of time. The same will be true of the basketball staff and everyone in the operation, especially since Miles was recruited to Tuscaloosa in the signing Class of 2020.
But there's one person who will have to live with the consequences longer than anyone else, and the devastating impacts.
Harris wasn't just a daughter, but also a mother, with a 5-year-old son.
The Crimson Tide ending up beating the Commodores by an irrelevant score and the season will go on. Meanwhile, I can't stop thinking of that little boy, and his eventually hearing the words "Mommy's not coming home."
The season moves forward, but the gut-wrenching agony being felt by Oats and so many others isn't going away anytime soon.
Jamea Jonae Harris with her son, Kaine, shared with ABC 33/40
See Also:
Alabama Basketball's Feelings After Vanderbilt Win: Relief
Update: Court Records Indicate Darius Miles Provided Gun In Weekend Shooting
Alabama Basketball Player Darius Miles Charged With Capital Murder
